


'clarity'

by commuovere



Category: boku no hero, 僕のヒーローアカデミア | Boku no Hero Academia | My Hero Academia
Genre: Bakugou Katsuki is Bad at Feelings, Dating, F/M, Partnership, Protective Bakugou Katsuki, Tsundere Bakugou Katsuki, Uraraka Ochako-centric
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-08-04
Updated: 2018-08-04
Packaged: 2019-06-21 20:23:37
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 992
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15565719
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/commuovere/pseuds/commuovere
Summary: Bakugo and Uraraka used to be partners, but somehow that privilege was taken from them. Now they're left trying to remember the real reason they held onto each other for so long.





	'clarity'

“Is that blood?”

“No?

“That’s not a question you’re supposed to answer with a question.”

He’s standing in the doorway, an unnaturally calm expression resting in his eyes. Ochako’s senses are attuned to the shift in air, the drawl in the gut when something is not quite right. So, the distressed appearance of Katsuki’s new suit paired with the solemn, thin press of his lips confirms her theory. 

He already knows. When the low light casts stern shadows across his face, it’s obvious he already knows. 

“I thought you were told not to engage,” Katsuki’s coarse voice echoes. Ochako’s distaste for private hospital rooms is proven once more when the sound of his measured, deliberate steps resound against the four walls. Halting before her bed, his half-lidded, cloudy eyes stare pointedly at the taut bandages around her arm. She freezes when his gaze inches upwards to register the matching gauze above her eyebrow. 

“Except I’m a hero.  That’s kind of what I’m supposed to do?” Ochako retorts, but she’s tired. Tired to resist. Tired to fight. Tired to fight  _ him _ .

“And yet you always return from missions like this.” He stands painfully still, swiping his tongue over the peeling slit on his lips _. _

“You didn’t seem to have a problem about it when we were partners,”

“That was then. Not now. You’re not supposed to make reckless decisions alone unless I’m there to back you up.”

Ochako’s lips part with a muted incredulity, but gradually find their way back together. She’s learned to not always take Katsuki’s words at face value because the the curt, unmannerly way he voiced himself was not necessarily a secret. But, she hated to admit it still hurt. 

“Is that why you’re here? To remind me we’re not partners anymore and how useless I am without you?” Her words stung but a weary, distraught vulnerability replaces the malice instead. Losing Katsuki’s partnership was still an open wound on her pride and more importantly her affection. Toxic emotions continued to haunt her along with her newly acquired imposter syndrome that made missions ten times more distressing.

Katsuki releases a restrained, shuddering exhale.

“That is...not what I meant.” 

Ochako lets her head fall against the bed’s backboard with a soft thud. The overwrought, sunkenness in the way he returns her gaze ignites a throbbing sensation in her chest. She wonders how she didn’t notice before, that his proud, wide shoulders were replaced with a burdened, stooped curve. That the infamous, unyielding poise to which he carried himself was replaced with a wilted, drained loss of grace.

Maybe he was the one that needed saving. But right now, she wasn’t in the position to be his hero.

“Then, what did you mean,  _ Katsuki _ ,”

When she says his name, Katsuki shivers. And as if the barriers came crashing to shore all at once, he entangles a hand through the knots in his hair, and lets out shaky breath. 

“I mean,” he says a little softer this time, pulling in a chair to fit snugly at her side, “next time you decide to throw a truck like its a fucking bowling ball, think about how your shitty boyfriend is going to suffer explaining that to the press.”

He fakes a sneer, and the thick tension that suffocated the air seconds ago diffuses as quickly as a thin, morning fog. Ochako’s lips pull upwards, breaking the stiff muscles of her sulking cheeks. It feels like she hasn’t smiled in forever---or rather, smiled from a genuinely happy place. It seemed for so long that she had been merely a ghost of herself; confused, blind, and stumbling around in the shadows. But it didn’t take long for Katsuki to come and pluck her right out of the nightmare.  

Katsuki stuffs his hands in his pockets, loosening the wrinkled frown that hardened his stare. 

“Why, did they give wittle Kacchan a hard time out there?” Ochako tries to snuff a giggle but to no avail. 

“Shut up. I have to keep reminding those shit-heads that Uravity is very well capable of taking care of herself.”  He grumbles, ignoring the heat that blooms against his collar. 

When Ochako finds control again, the fatigue that once sagged against her shoulders begins to trickle away. He was here now and  somehow she knew he had never really left. 

“Look, I’m sorry. I’m just...really...really, really, tired. And.  _ I miss you _ . ”

Ochako attempts to suppress the quiver of her voice, but Katsuki notices. He knows she’s missing the way they coordinated battles with an astonishing degree of trust. He knows she’s missing the way they held onto each other when the world was unkind and admonishing. And now, partner or no partner, she’s missing  _ him _ . Just him.

Katsuki huffs.  He was supposed to say that first. That’s what he came to do anyways. But Ochako always beat him to expressing emotions. He chews the inside of his cheek and watches her glossy eyes.

“You have nothing to be sorry for. I talked to your boss. If my petition goes through, we might get to be partners again.”

_ Translation: I worked day and night annoying disrespectful authoritative figures and ignoring their shitty responses because I admit that I need you by my side more than I thought was humanly possible. _

“Good…” Ochako smiles, and this time it reaches her eyes. “Until then, please…” 

 

_ Stay here. _

 

Without a word, Katsuki slouches in his chair, folding his arms over his belly, and tightly closing his eyes. 

“I cancelled my last appointment. Don’t wake me up unless you want to die.”

And when Ochako shifts until her head finds her pillow, she realizes that maybe some things only work by falling completely apart. Because that way, they can be pieced back together with a tinge more clarity. 

At the sound of Katsuki’s serene breathing, Ochako welcomes the sleep world with an aching bliss. The pain is considerably more bearable than before.

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


**Author's Note:**

> Hello! Thank you for reading my stories, and supporting my new found love for Kacchako! Any comments are always appreciated! If you have a tumblr, I'd love it if you follow! :
> 
> https://caffe-shoppe.tumblr.com/


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